Exploring the remote work challenges in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: review and application model

PurposeRemote work (RW) literature is a megatrend in HRM literature, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of RW as a concept and an organisational practice. Given the large number of papers being published on remote work, there is a need for a critical review of the extant literature using bibliometric analysis. This paper examines the literature on remote working to identify the factors crucial for managing a remote workforce. This study uses the complex adaptive systems theory as a foundation to build a framework that organisations can use to manage their remote workforce, focusing on three outcomes: employee engagement, collaboration and organisational agility.Design/methodology/approachBibliometric analysis was conducted on the research published in Scopus journal in the area of remote work, followed by critical literature analysis.FindingsThe bibliometric analysis identified five clusters that reflect five organisational factors which the management can align to achieve the desired outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility: technology orientation, leadership, HRM practices, external processes and organisational culture. The present findings have important implications for managing the remote workforce.Originality/valueThe five factors were mapped to propose a conceptual model on engaging individual employees, fostering team collaboration and building organisational agility while working remotely. We also propose an application model for using technology to achieve the outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility in the organisation. Practitioners could use this framework to focus on the factors that can create a conducive environment to improve work efficiency in a remote workforce.

Organisational agility, environmental knowledge and green product success

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of organisational agility on environmental knowledge as an instrument for the successful development of eco-innovation in products. Design/methodology/approach This study used a cross-sectional design to collect data on the study variables from a sample of 184 Spanish manufacturing organisations. Structural equations with partial least squares were used to test the hypotheses. Findings Organisational agility is significantly linked to internal and external environmental knowledge. The results of this study highlight the effect of external knowledge on the success of eco-innovation. Internal environmental knowledge positively moderates the effect of external knowledge on the success of green products. Research limitations/implications Based on the dynamic capabilities approach, a theoretical model has been proposed in which organisational agility is configured as an effective capacity for the development of environmental knowledge. The results confirm this relationship and indicate that, although internal environmental knowledge is not decisive in developing new green products, it does enhance the effect of external knowledge on the success of eco-innovation. Practical implications Innovative companies must implement organisational agility practices that promote environmental knowledge for the success of new green products. They should also promote both external and internal knowledge. Originality/value This study addresses the little explored area of the relationship between organisational agility and the successful development of new green products. The inherent particularities of eco-innovation prompt the need for further studies on the creation of specific knowledge for its promotion. This study concludes that adopting agile practices enables key environmental knowledge for this type of innovation to be created. Additionally, it explores the tensions arising from the dichotomy between internal and external knowledge, with scarce resources allocated to the most effective source. Although both types of knowledge seem to be equally relevant, external knowledge plays a more significant role in the case of eco-innovation. A final contribution of this study is the finding that internal knowledge can further enhance the effect of external knowledge on the development of successful green products.

The Interplay among Organisational Learning Culture, Agility, Growth, and Big Data Capabilities

This paper examines how an organisational learning culture impacts organisational agility by developing a model based on dynamic capabilities. The model treats agility as a dynamic capability and explains how an organisational learning culture (OLC) triggers a chain reaction through its influence on organisational agility (OA) that ultimately results in company growth. This paper also investigates the role of big data capabilities in transferring learning outcomes into dynamic capabilities. The model is tested through data collected from a survey of 138 Australian companies. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is adopted to empirically demonstrate how agility fully mediates the impact of the learning culture on growth. In addition, this paper further sheds light on the moderating role of big data competencies on the effects of OLC on OA. After presenting the results with implications to theory and practice, the paper ends with suggestions for future studies.

Exploring Factors Influencing Open Innovation Adoption in SMEs: The Evidence from Emerging Markets

Open Innovation (OI) is among the vital innovation paradigms for assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to effectively implement innovation initiatives. Drawing on the concepts of organisational agility and absorptive capacity with transaction cost theory, this study’s goal is to investigate factors affecting the adoption of an Open Innovation (OI) orientation in Thai SMEs. Using data from 214 SMEs in Thailand, structural equation modelling validated the model and analysed the proposed hypotheses. The results show that organisational agility, economic and financial readiness and absorptive capacity relate positively to OI adoption and innovation performance. Organisational agility (b = 0.553) had the greatest influence on OI adoption, then economic and financial readiness (b = 0.405) and absorptive capacity (b = 0.387) followed. The results of mediation analysis also reveal that OI adoption partially mediates the effects of organisational agility and absorptive capacity on innovation performance. Our study provides a trailblazing empirical analysis of the major factors influencing SMEs’ OI adoption and performance, extending knowledge of OI adoption by SMEs in emerging economies. The paper proposes a holistic framework for examining SMEs’ OI adoption and performance, through the integration of organisational agility, absorptive capacity and transaction-cost concepts. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01295 Full Text: PDF

Design of transformation initiatives implementing organisational agility: an empirical study

This study uses 125 responses from companies of all sizes predominantly headquartered in Germany, Switzerland, France and UK to reveal perceptions of the drivers of organisational agility. It further investigates current understanding of managing principles of multiple organisational dimensions such as culture, values, leadership, organisational structure, processes and others to achieve greater organisational agility. The data set is disaggregated into four major profiles of agile organisations: laggards, execution specialists, experimenters, and leaders. The approach to agile transformation is analysed by each of those profiles. While the positive effect from a more holistic approach is confirmed, leaders tend to focus more on processes and products rather than project work. Respondents perceive that IT, product development and research are most agile functions within their organisations, while human resources, finance and administration are considered being not agile. Furthermore, organisations with higher levels of organisational agility tend to use more than one agile scaling framework. Implications on theories of agile transformations and organisational design are discussed.

KESAN INTEGRASI KELAKUAN KUMPULAN PENGURUSAN ATASAN KE ATAS KETANGKASAN ORGANISASI DI MALAYSIA: KAPASITI PENYERAPAN SEBAGAI PEMBOLEH UBAH PENGANTARA (The Effects of Top Management Team Behavioural Integration on Organisational Agility in Malaysia: Absorp

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti kesan langsung dan tak langsung yang dimiliki oleh integrasi kelakuan kumpulan pengurusan atasan (KPA) ke atas dua keupayaan dinamik firma iaitu keupayaan pembelajaran dengan keupayaan konfigurasi semula, yang kedua-duanya diterjemahkan melalui pemboleh ubah kapasiti penyerapan dan ketangkasan organisasi. Analisis Partial Least Square ke atas maklum balas soal selidik daripada 159 buah firma perkilangan bersaiz besar dan sederhana di Malaysia menunjukkan terdapat hubungan positif yang signifikan antara integrasi kelakuan KPA dan kedua-dua kapasiti penyerapan serta ketangkasan organisasi. Hasil analisis juga menyokong hipotesis bagi hubungan tak langsung antara integrasi kelakuan KPA dan ketangkasan organisasi dengan kapasiti penyerapan sebagai faktor pengantara. Penemuan kajian ini menggesa KPA agar menonjolkan sikap yang mementingkan tingkah laku berkolaboratif, pertukaran maklumat yang berkualiti dan pembuatan keputusan secara bersama kerana ketiga-tiga aspek ini didapati secara kolektif memberi kesan yang positif kepada keupayaan dinamik firma. Dapatan kajian ini turut memberi isyarat kepada pengurusan atasan kepentingan untuk memastikan ketiga-tiga ciri ini dimiliki oleh calon yang bakal dipilih sebagai ahli KPA. Hasil kajian ini juga mampu menjadi titik rujuk kepada kajian lanjut yang dijalankan secara kualitatif yang dijangka dapat menyediakan gambaran lebih jelas mengenai peranan KPA dalam pembangunan keupayaan dinamik firma di Malaysia. Abstract This study was conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of top management team (TMT) behavioural integration on two dynamic capabilities, that is, the learning capability and reconfiguration capability which have been translated through the absorptive capacity and organisational agility. The Partial Least Square analysis on the survey responses from 159 large- and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Malaysia shows that there are significant positive relationships between the TMT behavioural integration and both the absorptive capacity and organisational agility. The analysis results also support the hypothesis of an indirect relationship between the TMT behavioural integration and organisational agility with absorptive capacity as the mediator. The findings reveal the need for the TMT to emphasise collaborative behaviour, quality information exchange and collective decision-making as the three aspects are collectively found to have positive impacts on the firm's dynamic capabilities. The TMT also has to ensure that the candidates selected as its team members must have these characteristics. The results of the study can also be a reference point for qualitative studies conducted which can provide a clearer picture of the role of TMT in the development of dynamic capabilities of firms in Malaysia. Keywords: Top management team behavioural integration, absorptive capacity, organisational agility, dynamic capabilities of firms, Malaysia.